


After A Storm Comes A Calm

by soldiermom1973



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: M/M, Medication, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Therapy, Thunderstorms, Weather
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-28
Updated: 2016-06-28
Packaged: 2018-07-18 22:04:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7332385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soldiermom1973/pseuds/soldiermom1973
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>The title is a quote from Matthew Henry and I thought it was perfect.  Thank you, Google, because I suck at coming up with titles on my own.</p><p>Also - this drabble talks about Shepard's PTSD.  No violence or anything like that, but if the idea of PTSD is a trigger, you might not want to read.</p><p>Written for a drabble challenge on the MEFF Facebook page.  The prompt was 'weather'.</p>
    </blockquote>





	After A Storm Comes A Calm

**Author's Note:**

> The title is a quote from Matthew Henry and I thought it was perfect. Thank you, Google, because I suck at coming up with titles on my own.
> 
> Also - this drabble talks about Shepard's PTSD. No violence or anything like that, but if the idea of PTSD is a trigger, you might not want to read.
> 
> Written for a drabble challenge on the MEFF Facebook page. The prompt was 'weather'.

There was a time when he loved thunderstorms. The flash of lighting and subsequent crash of thunder was both exhilarating and calming. One time, he dragged Kaidan outside to stand in a downpour. It had been his first full day out of the hospital and he had a lot of lost time to make up for. People hurried past the pair, looking at them as though they were crazy and at first, Kaidan agreed. After a few moments, though. Shepard had his lover laughing and jumping in the puddles right alongside him. His first post-Reaper experience with thunderstorms wasn't nearly as pleasant a memory.

He was home alone – a nice little place not too far from Kaidan's folks – when the sky suddenly turned dark. That alone was enough to cause Shepard to panic, his mind thinking a Reaper was approaching, but when the first lightning bolt arced across the sky and the accompanying thunder rattled the windows, Shepard dove behind the couch and instinctively reached for his sidearm, swearing when he remembered it was in the bedroom. His heart pounded painfully in his chest and he started to hyperventilate. His mind replayed the devastation he'd seen years prior – the Reapers landing in Vancouver, Palaven, Thessia; the billions of people killed; the sounds of the dying; the smell of gunpowder and biotics. When Kaidan came home hours later, Shepard was still behind the couch, still in the throes of a panic attack.

Shepard didn't want to go to therapy – how in the hell would it look if the galaxy's savior couldn't handle a fucking thunderstorm? But then it happened again. And again. And then with fireworks. Shepard finally allowed Kaidan to take him to a psychiatrist. There was so much talking and at first, he refused medication but the therapist told him that there was nothing wrong with pharmaceutical help for his condition. Then she smiled impishly and asked him what he'd be telling Kaidan if the situation was reversed.

So, meds became part of his treatment and, along with the therapy, actually started to help. He and Kaidan also started keeping a careful eye on the weather. If a storm was rolling through, Shepard would either lock himself in the bedroom and listen to some music or, if Kaidan was home, just curl up on the couch with his love and let him hold him. He preferred the storms when Kaidan was there – his arms were much more reassuring than locking himself away.

Kaidan also convinced Shepard to take the opportunity to talk about what he was going through in interviews. There was no telling how many other people out there were refusing help because they thought they could 'handle it' – seeing that the great Commander Shepard wasn't perfect might just be the push they needed to stop dealing with things on their own.

It all helped – the therapy, the medication, talking about it with others. Shepard still gets a little panicked if a storm manages to sneak up on him, but he hopes that one day soon, he won't be afraid to jump in the puddles again with Kaidan.


End file.
